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Bruce Anderson (Medal of Honor)
|died= |placeofbirth=Mexico, New YorkAnderson's Medal of Honor citation incorrectly records his place of birth as Mexico, New York. |placeofdeath=Albany, New York |placeofburial= Green Hill Cemetery Amsterdam, New York |placeofburial_label= Place of burial |image= |nickname= |allegiance= United States of America Union |branch= United States Army Union Army |serviceyears=from 1864 |rank= Private |commands= |unit=142nd New York Infantry |battles=American Civil War *Second Battle of Fort Fisher |awards=Medal of Honor |laterwork= }} Bruce Anderson (June 19, 1845 – August 22, 1922) was a Union Army soldier in the American Civil War and a recipient of America's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions during the Second Battle of Fort Fisher. After working as a farmer in New York Anderson joined the military to fight in the Civil War and volunteered with a group of other soldiers to elminate a palisade that was blocking the advance of his unit. After completing the mission and destroying the palasade, Anderson and twelve others were recommended for the Medal of Honor but the paperwork was lost. Anderson hired an attorney to get the Medal and he and 2 other soldiers received it in 1914. Biography Anderson was born June 19, 1845 in Mexico (town), New York but by the beginning of the Civil War was working as a farmer in New York. He enlisted for service in the military from SchenectadyAnderson's Medal of Honor citation incorrectly records his place of enlistment as Ephratah, New York. on August 31, 1864 as a private into Company K of the 142nd New York Infantry.Hanna, 14 On January 15, 1865, Anderson participated in the Union's second attack on Fort Fisher in North Carolina. He and twelve other men answered a call for volunteers to advance ahead of the main attack and cut down the palisade which blocked their path. Despite intense fire from the Confederate defenders, Anderson and the others were successful in destroying the obstacle. General Adelbert Ames recommended all thirteen men for the Medal of Honor, but his report was misplaced and the medals not issued. Forty-nine years after the end of the war, in 1914, Anderson hired a lawyer in an effort to receive the Medal of Honor. One of the other soldiers in the palisade-cutting group, Private Zachariah C. Neahr, had successfully petitioned for the award decades earlier. At Anderson's prompting, the Adjutant General of the Army launched an investigation which uncovered General Ames' letter of recommendation and sought out the other men of the group. Three men, Alaric B. Chapin, George Merrill, and Dewitt C. Hotchkiss, were found to be still alive and were, along with Anderson, again recommended for the medal. Anderson, Merrill, and Chapin were each issued the Medal of Honor on December 28, 1914; Hotchkiss' recommendation was overlooked a second time, and he was never decorated. Anderson lived for a time in Illinois, but eventually returned to New York and settled there in the city of Amsterdam. He died August 22, 1922 at age 77 in St. Peter's Hospital in Albany, New York, and was buried at Green Hill Cemetery in Amsterdam. Retrieved on 2008-02-14 Medal of Honor citation Rank and organization: Private, Company K, 142d New York Infantry. Place and date: At Fort Fisher, N.C., January 15, 1865. Entered service at: Ephratah, N.Y. Born: Mexico, Oswego County, N.Y., June 9, 1845. Date of issue: December 28, 1914. Citation: Voluntarily advanced with the head of the column and cut down the palisading. See also *List of Medal of Honor recipients *List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: A–F *List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Second Battle of Fort Fisher *List of African-American Medal of Honor recipients Footnotes References : ;Inline ;General * External links * Retrieved on 2010-01-08 *Storming the Ramparts *Home of Heroes gravesite photo *Home of Heroes Medal of Honor citation *Waymarking with grave location coordinates Category:1845 births Category:1922 deaths Category:Army Medal of Honor recipients Category:People from Montgomery County, New York Category:Union Army soldiers Category:People of New York in the American Civil War